Ghost Hunt : The Curse of the fox (Ft Mai x Naru)
by jilnachtaugen
Summary: 17 year old Daniel Reed comes to SPR and asks the team to come investigate the house of his stepfather Yukio Kimura, where strange things are happening. They soon realize the house is haunted by a bloodthirsty spirit. Who is it targeting and why? Why is Daniel's stepsister so distant with the team?
1. Chapter 1

**Ghost Hunt: The Curse of the Fox (Fan fiction ft. Maru)**

My name is Mai Taniyama, a freshman in high school. I work part time at Shibuya Psychic Research, SPR for short. The owner who runs the company is Kazuya Shibuya. He is a seventeen year old scientist, genius, ghost hunter. You'll never meet someone as self-confident as him. So full of himself that I decided to nickname him Naru (short for narcissist). He is always calm and collected which make him seem pretty cool. He's also very handsome. Never the less, he's really good at what he does. Naru has another assistant named Lin Koujo. He's not very talkative and he's definitely not a fan of me, but he never complains about doing the unpleasant jobs. He's actually ten years older than Naru. He also acts as Naru's bodyguard for some reason. Lin knows as much as Naru when it comes to psychic abilities.

We occasionally have other friends that come and help us. There is John Brown (19), an exorcist priest from Australia, Masako Hara (16), a celebrity medium, Houshou Takigawa (25), a monk and a self styled shrine maiden, Ayako Matsuzaki (23). This is the story of one of our most difficult and frightening cases.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thursday, October 21****st**** 4:35pm**

"I'm late again! Naru's going to kill me if I don't hurry! Why did I have to fall asleep?" I ran down the street like crazy. I just had to one more turn and I'll be there. Just when I engaged the turn I ran into something. I was thrown backwards and landed flat on my butt. "Ow!

"Are you all right? Let me help you."

"Yeah I think so."

The guy who I bumped into grabbed my hand and helped me up. He seemed to be the same age as Naru. But boy, he was handsome. He had gorgeous blue eyes and blond spiky hair. At first he looked kind of scary: he was wearing black jeans with black sneakers and a sleeveless red shirt. He had three piercings in his left ear and a grey sweatshirt was tied around his waist. However, the look in his eyes was warm and comforting. I suddenly realized that it was me who'd run into him and not the other way around. I bowed down really quickly. "I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to bump into you like that!" He looked confused for a minute then smiled at me.

Don't worry about it. No harm, no grudge.

Still, I should do something to repay you…

Actually, you could help me find my way around. I'm looking for the office of Shibuya Psychic Research. Any idea where it could be?

Whoa, what a coincidence. I'm going there right now. Oh no, I'm late! It's this way!

I grabbed his wrist and darted off again. We soon reached the entrance door of the office. I pushed the door open. "Naru, I'm bringing a client!"

There is no need to yell Mai, said a calm and collected voice I knew all too well. By the way you're late and I need tea.

Yes, you Highness, I pouted. 'I turned to our visitor and smiled.' This is Mr. Shibuya, the owner of the SPR. He's the one you want to see.

Thanks... um… Mai, was it?"

I nodded and went to the small kitchen area of the office. While preparing the tea, I heard Naru and our new client's request.

My name is Daniel Reed. My father died when I was young and my mother got remarried six month ago. We moved to Tokyo with my stepfather, Yukio Kimura. They bought a new house just outside the city and… strange things are happening.

Like what?

Well, at first it was just random noises in rooms where no one would be. We figured the house was making sounds because it was old, so we stopped paying attention. After a while they stopped for good but a week later, the oven exploded and nearly blew up the entire kitchen.

Is that all? Naru was not easily impressed. Most of the cases of haunted houses brought to us were due to human activity.

No. The other day, I was in the living room. Suddenly the temperature started dropping fast. It was like being outside in a snow storm. The lights started flickering and I heard something that sounded like a deep vibration. I could've sworn it was a growl. We had the gas, electricity and air conditioning checked dozens of time, but they never found anything.

Naru taught me that the dropping of temperature usually means that there are spirits around. The whistling of the boiler brought me back to reality. I prepared the tea quickly and brought a cup for Naru and another for Daniel. Lin was taking notes of what he was saying on his laptop. Then Naru spoke again.

When did this occur?

About three weeks ago.

Has anything else happened since?

Doors would open and close by themselves, but recently our "guest" has taken interest in breaking things. Every three days or so, something will break in the house. First it was small objects like glasses but last time we found a big hole in one of the doors.

I felt a chill down my spine. If the house was really haunted, it meant the spirits were getting violent.

So mister Shibuya… will you take the case?

Just one question: why are you the one making the request?

Because someone has to do it. My stepdad is too busy with work to notice all the bizarre things happening. My mother is simply refusing to take action without his permission. But if this question is about my age, you're the last person that should lecture me. 'He said that with an ironic grin on his face.'

Very well then 'Naru replied in his usual cool, neutral voice' we'll take the case. Mai.

Eh? Me? Yes?

Stop daydreaming and call the Kimura house. Tell them we'll be coming tomorrow.

**Friday, October 22****nd****2:50pm - Kimura Residence.**

When we arrived I was surprised at how big the house was. Almost like a manor. There were three floors with at least ten rooms each. "We could easily get lost in a house this big…"

You, probably. Me, not so much. Unlike you I have a pretty good sense of orientation.

Great, we'd been here five minutes and I already wanted to hit him. 'What's with all the insults anyway? What did I ever do to him?' I knew replying would be useless. Naru was just as good with his words as with his tech. Lin and I had just finished setting up base with all the screens and control boards. All that was left now was setting up the surveillance cameras in each room. I sat down for a moment and sighed loudly. I regretted that a second too late. "What are you doing Mai? Work isn't finished yet."

You can talk! All you've been doing was research on your laptop. Maybe your fingers need a little ice for that arduous task of typing, but as for me, the base set up put my back out, thank you very much!

Then how about I give you a hand, Mai?" Said a voice behind me. Daniel was in the door frame smiling.

Yeah, thanks a lot!"

I followed Daniel around the house and in each room, we set up cameras and microphones. While we were doing that I asked him about his family.

This house is kind of big for three people, don't you think?

Actually there are eight people living in this house.

So you have siblings?

I would very much like to hear about everyone in your family as well.

Naru! You scared the hell out of me!

It's nice to see how close you've become in such a short amount of time, but I'd like to get back to the case now."

That jerk! Why was he acting so rudely towards his own client? That was new. We all went back to base and Naru started questioning Daniel again. We learned that in the house resided also Yume (12), Daniel's stepsister, Rina and Miki (16), a pair of twins that were taken in by the Kimura couple, Ruka (20), a student that rented a room in the house and Shion (29) their aunt. "Has any of them been affected in any particular way by the activity here?" Before Daniel could answer we heard the door open and a voice shouted: "We're home!" Two girls past in front of the room and came in when they saw us. They were perfectly identical: same light purple dyed hair, and dark blue eyes. Only one of them, Miki I think, had hair cut short, and had a lollipop in her mouth. "Hey Dany, are those people the ghost hunters? Hope you can get rid of whatever it is fast. I already lost a mirror and two frames." She laughed lightly. Her voice was quiet and sweet at the same time. Rina however didn't speak. She was just staring at us. "If you need help just ask, 'kay?"

Miki where's Yume? Asked Daniel.

It's Friday, she has dance class until 6:00. Do you need us to prepare the rooms for them?

Yeah, good idea.

The twins left and took Daniel with them. Naru, Lin and I started checking on the gear. Then Lin noticed that the temperature was dropping in one of the rooms upstairs but nothing moved. We waited. Naru made a walk through in the house but found nothing. It wasn't unusual to not find anything in the first twenty-four hours of the investigation. The spirits are usually pretty shy.

After a couple hours, Daniel came and we asked him about the room. He told us it was Yume's bedroom. It remained cold the whole time. That meant the spirit, if it was one, was not moving. In that moment I really wished Masako were here: she could tell if it was really a spirit. I started having goose bumps. Then Miki knocked on the door frame: "Dany! Its 6:30 and Yume's still not here!" After she had just said that, Daniel rushed out of the house with Miki and Rina behind him. They came back fifteen minutes later. Rina was carrying a little girl with long auburn hair. I gasped when I saw her: Yume had bruises and blood all over her. She had holes in the sleeves of her sweatshirt and one of her shoes was missing. "Mai," I looked at Naru. "Go help them, we can manage here." I went to the kitchen and took some water and a towel. Yume was sitting in the couch, not moving. Her eyes were empty, like she was awake but not conscious. I helped Miki clean her wounds. "Yume, this is the second time this week." Miki still had her quiet voice but she was scolding her. Shion came in and helped us muttering to herself. "Those little rascals! I'll make sure to get them expel!" "What exactly happened, I asked?

She was beat up. 'Said Daniel coming in with a first aid kit.' I thought it'd stopped!

Why?

Yume's twelve but she is in eighth grade. Her classmates don't think she belongs there.

No way?

Dany, who is that? 'Asked the injured girl.'

Oh I'm sorry! My name is Mai.

I thought you might be Dany's girlfriend.

Huh?!

In that moment, her eyes sparkled and she laughed like a little kid. It was nice to see she was so brave after being beat up. We bandaged the rest of her injuries and then she asked what I was doing here. I told her that I was here with SPR. "We're going to help you with your ghost problem", I added smiling. She froze and stared at me in fear and confusion. Without any warning, she jumped out of her seat and dashed out of the room. We heard her go upstairs. "Did I say something I shouldn't have Daniel?"

I don't understand either. I did forget to tell her that you guys were coming but that reaction wasn't expected…

We went back to the base. The temperature in Yume's room went back to normal a second after she came in. "Daniel, was it Yume's door that got broken last time?" Asked Naru.

No. It was my mom and stepdad's. Now that I think about it, all the broken objects were mostly upstairs or in the office.

The office was on the first floor, right under Yume's room. We all went to bed after that.

**Saturday, October 23****rd**

That morning, we were able to meet Mary, Daniel's mom. She was very nice to us. Since today was a weekend almost everyone would be in the house. At the breakfast table she told us that Mr. Kimura should return around noon from his trip. Shion was also very friendly. She was an archeologist that just came back from a search in Egypt. However, we didn't see Yume. I went to base with Naru and Lin and they started checking yesterday's data. "I'm still sleepy" I thought. "It won't kill anyone if I close my eyes for a few seconds". I fell asleep.

I was in the kitchen of a house. A little girl with auburn hair was trying to reach a cookie jar. It was nighttime. Suddenly, I heard footsteps coming towards us. "You're in danger" I said "Quick, hide!" The little girl didn't hear me and called out: "Mommy, is that you?" A masked man came in and pointed a gun towards the little girl. I wanted to throw myself in front of her but an arm grabbed me. Holding me was Naru. The one I always saw in my dreams. "This is a memory Mai. There's nothing you can do." He looked sad when he said that. I looked again. The man grabbed the girl and she screamed in pain. Then a woman came in running and threw herself on the man. The bullet hit her right in the chest. She fell to the ground. I screamed at the same time as the girl. "Mai, wake up!"

"Mai! Wake up!" I received a slap in the face. I opened my eyes. Naru's face was just above mine. "You were screaming." Are you all right?

Daniel? Where's Daniel?

Why? My boss asked frowning.

I need to ask him something.

Fine then.

Was it just me or did he look offended? Daniel came soon after. "Daniel, how did Yume's mom died?"

How did you know she died? I never mentioned it… Anyway, she was shot by a burglar when Yume was seven. And she saw the whole thing.

Did you have another clairvoyant dream Mai? Asked Naru suddenly interested.

Yeah. I saw the fight.

Daniel, asked Naru. You said you've been living here for six months, right? When exactly did the strange phenomenon start?

About two months after we moved in,but it only became violent about three weeks Yume, Miki and Rina, and Ruka came, it was quiet

Yume wasn't with her father?

After her mom died, Yukio sent her to live with her grandmother. To be honest, I think he couldn't bear to see her. When he came in the house after the murder, he found Yume bathed in her mom's blood. It's haunting him. They haven't talked in four years and they even avoid being in the same room.

That's awful! I shouted. How can he shun his own daughter like that?

However Yume seems fine… continued Naru.

When she moved back in with us, she had a friend named Shirogane. But he died just after Yume moved in, crushed by a car. After that, Yume went back to her cold self, but recently, she started getting better. I thought it was because the beatings had stopped.

I see.

Naru's eyes were lost in thought for a moment. Then he looked at me again: "Mai, I want you to…"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

We were interrupted by a scream. We all raced to the living room. The table was smashed into little pieces… The one that had screamed was Shion. She still had her hands in front of her mouth in shock: "I was just having a cup of tea, when I heard some kind of growl and the table started shaking and…

It's all right now, I told her. It's over.

It's still cold in here, noticed Lin.

What is going on here? 'I turned around to see for the first time Yukio Kimura.'

It was almost dinner time now. Daniel had explained to his father why SPR was here. Mr Kimura thanked us for coming and begged us to fix the problem quickly. I was helping Shion and Mary to prepare dinner. We then set up the table and called for everyone. I realized that we were missing someone: "Would you like me to go get Yume? She hasn't left her room all day…

Actually, replied Naru, she was the first one up. She left her room by the window at five thirty-four.

She what? Exclaimed Miki and Daniel at the same time.

That is strange, added Mary. None the less, would you please get her Mai?"

I agreed and got up. I went upstairs. If I remembered correctly, Yume's room was at the very end of the first hallway on the right. I knocked on the door and opened it: "Dinner's ready!" I realized that I was in the wrong room. When he saw me, Ruka quickly hid a piece of paper in a drawer and looked back at me with a smile. He looked embarrassed: "Oh you startled me! I'll be right there, thank you very much." He kind of looked like a nerd with his glasses, but he seemed like a nice guy. "No problem! Do you know where Yume's room is?

Of Course! It's all the way at the end of the hallway."

I got out and went to the end of the left hallway, cursing Naru for being right about my sense of direction. As I got closer to the room, I heard Yume speaking to herself: "I know you're getting itchy about them being here. But you have to control yourself. What's gotten into you?" Was she scolding herself? Did Yume dislike strangers that much? Who could blame her? Her mom was killed by a burglar with a mask… To her, he could be anyone. I knocked: "Yume, are you hungry?" I heard a gasp and a quick response: "I…I'll be right there."


	3. Chapter 3

**Sunday, October 24****th**** 9:44am **

"Mai are you feeling alright?" Naru's voice was as flat as ever, but I could still catch a hint of worry in it. I was kind of nice. "I'm fine. I can't stop thinking about last night's dinner. It was like Yukio wasn't even seeing Yume.

That is none of our business Mai. Now I'd like you to focus on the case. Did you call the others like I told you?

Yeah. Masako and Monk should be arriving around noon. John will be coming in tonight and Ayako should be here tomorrow morning.

Good job. Anything new on camera Lin?

Nothing. The only disturbances we got so far are a few temperature drops in the rooms upstairs.

Are you talking about Masako the famous medium? 'I turned around and saw Yume'.

Hi Yume. It's her alright!

Can she really see spirits?

Not just see, she can also sense them." She looked down like she was worried or thinking. Then she asked again: "And your other friends what do they do?

They perform different forms of cleansing or exorcism.

What's the difference?

Cleansing is when you help a spirit find peace. Exorcism is when you force them out.

Whoa! You know so much stuff about it don't you? What can you do Mai?

I'm not a spiritualist. I can't do any of this stuff."

I didn't have much faith in my gift. And I surely didn't want to remind her of her mother's death. It must have been so painful. Miki came in and told us that Masako and Monk had arrived. Yume ran out of the room and went upstairs just like when I told her we were ghost hunters. Miki and I stared at each other in confusion. I opened the front door for Monk and Masako. "Hi, Mai! It's good to see you!" He always acted like a big brother with me. "You too Monk, how are you Masako?" The medium had stumbled and was now on her knees: "What is this? What is going on here? What can cause such a wrath? It makes me sick." I felt like she was about to cry. Fear was visible in her eyes. That was never a good sign. Was the spirit this dangerous? At least now we knew the house really was haunted.

"Miss Hara, tell me what you feel", asked Naru after we had brought Masako to the living room.

I feel wrath and violence. The spirit is unhappy of our presence here. But there is more… behind the wrath I sense a deep sadness. But it is not coming from the spirit itself.

Something like a grudge?

Yes, a strong one." She suddenly gasped. "It's coming."

The whole room started shaking. My heart was ready to explode inside my chest. "Mai, get away from the window!" Yelled Naru a second too late. The window shattered and shards flew everywhere. I protectively put my arms in front of my face and screamed. But something grabbed around the waist and I was thrown to the ground. I opened my eyes and found myself in Daniel's arms. He on the other hand was bleeding from the face. A shard had cut his cheek. "Daniel! Are you alright?!

Yeah, I think.

You're bleeding! Even if it's just a scratch you have to clean it right away!"

I headed to the kitchen with Daniel, but I heard Naru grunt his usual "Tch". I wondered why he had been on edge ever since the beginning of the investigation. It turns out that his whole left arm had been injured by the glass. I disinfected Daniel's wounds, and put a bandage on his cheek. One inch higher and he would have lost his eye. "Thanks Mai."

"I should be the one thanking you. " He looked at me with a smile. I turned my head so he wouldn't see me blush. I felt him take my hand on bring it up to his face. "I'm glad you're not hurt." His lips made contact with the back of my hand. I probably turned crimson. I stood up quickly and laughed nervously.

"Umm well…I should probably join Naru and the others!" I turned and started walking to base. Then Masako came walking towards me. "Mai, have you had any of your dreams? It might help us find the culprit. "

"What do you mean culprit? You think this is a curse?" My voice shook when I said that. Masako just nodded. As we walked to base, I told her about my first dream. "It seems that Yume is linked to the haunting…"

"Hey, don't just jump to conclusion! Yume is just a little girl! How in the world would she know how to curse someone?

"Naru has already made it clear that the cause of the supernatural activity was not human. Therefore someone had to summon the spirit. Are you saying that you do not trust Naru's expertise? Or is it simply because of the lack of self-confidence you have?" And there she went again with the pro-Naru extreme. We both had a crush on Naru. But I never played dirty like her. She always had to look down on me like that. I hated that. We arrived in front of base and were about to go in when Masako froze, starring in fear at the other end of the hallway. I looked. Yume came down the stairs carrying a small porcelain sugar cup in her hands. She quickly glanced in our direction then hurried outside. "What is it Miss Hara asked Naru?"

"This child, she is possessed!" What?

"Monk! Don't let Yume go anywhere!" Naru yelled. Monk dashed out of the room and I followed him. We found Yume outside in the garden with Shion, watering the flowers and taking care of the roses in the garden. Masako and Naru came soon after. "Is something wrong? Shion asked a little worried. "Did Yume do something?" Without answering her Naru asked Masako to look at Yume carefully. She did and shook her head.

"I could've sworn I sensed a fox spirit inside her…" We were back inside. "I believe you, said Naru. I think there is no more doubt that Yume is involved." I sprang up. "That's not true! We're missing too many elements to say that! You said it was possibly a curse, right? If it is, we don't even know who is cursed! For now all the spirit has done was breaking objects!" Everyone was just staring at me, but I couldn't care less. The only one that mattered was Naru. He was the one that needed to hear me. "We can't just drag her into this without any solid proof!"

My boss sighed. "Seeing how this is a ghost hunt, I don't believe 'solid proof' is the correct term for it. But Mai is right. We need to know more. Besides, you usually have good intuition."

Did I just get a compliment from the king of narcissists? That was an achievement. Naru continued. "We are going to need a new approach. Miss Hara, I want you to go around the house and search for the spirit. Monk, go with her and try to exorcise it. Lin will monitor everything from here. Mai, I want you to watch Yume closely. Don't let her out of your sight."

"What about you Naru?"

"I'm going to do a bit more research. Go now." Everyone got up and left. I was about to head upstairs to find Yume when Naru grabbed my wrist. "Be careful Mai, this spirit is not to be taken lightly." I nodded and continued my way.

I looked at the clock. It was 7:30. I was with Yume, Miki and Rina, playing chess in the basement. It was actually a dance studio. There were giant mirrors on the walls, the floor was made of dark wood and there was a piano in a corner. The room was actually very big. Rina was reading, quiet as ever. Yume was monitoring our game. I moved my knight. "Checkmate!" Miki let out a fake sigh and said "I give up, I can't beat you."

"Are you girls having fun?" Shion appeared in the staircase. She walked to the piano and sat. She opened it started playing a familiar melody. Without a word Yume got up and went over to the piano. She sat next to it, closed her eyes and pressed her ear against the instrument. The melody was from an American song called "_Just a dream_". I was amazed by how Shion could create that melody with just a keyboard and her hands. At the end of the song, Yume let out a small sob. Shion immediately stopped playing and hugged the crying girl. "I'm sorry sweetheart, I didn't mean to stir up those memories."

Miki whispered to me. "Yume's mom played the piano. This must have been one of her songs." We waited a couple minutes as Yume was sobbing on her aunt's shoulder, until she said "I'm okay". Shion herself had started crying. But she looked angry at the same time. "Shion, are you okay?" I asked her.

"I'm fine. We'll soon all be fine. Right, Yume?" The way she'd said that last sentence sent shivers down my spine. Suddenly, we heard the scream of a man. We all rushed upstairs to the second floor... What we saw horrified me: Yukio was being dragged by the leg by something invisible towards a shattered window. His ankle was bleeding. Yume jumped and grabbed her father's other arm. Miki, Rina and I helped her but the force pulling us had so much strength that we could barely slow it down. I was so scared at the thought of falling that I closed my eyes but I knew I couldn't let go.

"Dad, hold on! Let go! Stop it!" Screamed Yume. Her eyes filled up with tears. Someone came running up the stairs and I heard a splash of water and received some on my face and someone reciting the sign of the cross. A second after that, the force disappeared and we all fell to the ground. I looked up and saw John with a bottle of holy water in his hand. "Well that was a close one hey, Mai?" He said with a thick Australian accent. Tears started falling out of my eyes. I tried to rub them off, but they kept coming. John knelt down next to me and patted my back. "There, there Mai. It's over now.

"Thank you John. Thank you so much."

The spirit had finally attacked a human being. And It was Yukio. We now knew who the target of the curse was. His wound looked like a dog bite. "I think your hypothesis about the fox demon is starting to make sense Miss Hara." Said Naru a couple hours later at base. Masako showed no emotion but she glanced at me. Gosh, I wanted to hit her. "I'm almost certain the curser is someone in this house. First we need to figure out how Yukio was cursed.

What are the possibilities Naru? Asked John

"In my opinion, it could either be a Zuzo curse, a summoning by ouijaboard or a shiki."

Couldn't it be a spirit of someone who died here before? I asked. It seemed everything was pointing towards the family, and therefore Yume.

"Think Mai." Said Naru. If it was, it would have attacked sooner. The Kimura have been here for the past six months. A couple years ago, this house belonged Yume's grandmother, but the activity only started recently. The problem comes from the family."

"But couldn't they have summoned it accidentally if they played with ouijaboards? Like that case at Yasu's high school."

"Have you seen what this spirit is capable of? It almost has material substance and directly harm a human being. An amateur cannot summon such a strong spirit."

"But..."

"Enough Mai! None of us wishes for the culprit to be one of them, but it's too obvious!"

Naru's sudden snap made me jump. I lowered my head. But when I looked up again I was in a street.


	4. Chapter 4

It was nighttime. I turned around and saw the Naru of my dreams again, but this time again he was not smiling. "Naru, what is going on? Where are we?" He pointed at the other side of the street. A Yume was running. She had bruises and blood dripping from her head. She dropped her book bag to run faster. Behind her I saw two boys and a girl chasing her. They looked older but they had the same school uniform. "Are those her classmates?" Suddenly, Yume tripped and fell to the ground. They caught up to her and started kicking her. "So Miss Smarty thinks she's better than us huh?

"Try to repeat your Physics lesson now, Perfect brat!"

Is this what Yume was going through every day at school? I wanted to cry. I turned towards Naru, to tell him to wake me up. I didn't want to see this, it made me sick. But then on the same side of the street as ours, another boy came running. He was between blond and red. His brown eyes were filled with anger. He looked about the same age as those bullies did. He stopped next to us and leaned against the fence of the sidewalk. "Yume!" He shouted.

"Shiro!" She said in a weak voice. "Help me..."

The boy jumped over the fence and started running towards the other side of the street... Without noticing the car coming his way. I knew what was going to happen but I didn't want to see it. I woke up gasping loudly.

**Monday, October 25****th****, 10:10am**

"Easy Mai!"I was in my bed. Daniel was sitting next to me. He placed his hand on my forehead while I breathed heavily. "You don't seem to have a fever. That's good."

"I fainted again didn't I?"

"Naru brought you here and told me to watch over you."

"Thank... wait, Naru carried me here?"

"Yeah. You slept through the night."

Wow. Was it just me, or was my narcissist, over self-confident, jerk-self boss starting to get soft on me? "You scared the life out of me. Do you faint often?"

"No usually it happens in my sleep. But I think he had to show me something this time and pulled me in a trance or something."

Who's he?

Oh it's a figure that guides me in my dreams. It looks like Naru. During different cases, it shows me something that is part of it. Especially if I'm in danger."

Daniel chuckled: "You're amazing Mai! You can handle one Naru in reality, but also one in your mind! Haha!

Actually, the Naru in my dreams is always smiling and being nice to me. It's like the incarnation of Naru's feelings."

Daniel stopped laughing and looked serious again. He brought his hand up to my face and brushed my bangs away from my forehead. "I'd give anything to be in his place and be on your mind all the time."

I froze at his last comment and felt my cheeks getting redder. It may, have been just me but it looked like he was getting closer. Suddenly, we heard knocking on the door. "Come in, said Daniel. Mary appeared from behind the door : "Dany, you're going to be late for school. Mai I think Naru wants to see you." She had huge bags under her eyes. She probably stayed all night up watching over Yukio, just like her son did with me. I got up, quickly brushed my hair and ran to join Naru and the others at base.

"Naru, I'm here!

"Again Mai, no need to shout. How are you feeling?"

"Fine, I'm still a bit dizzy though..."

"I take it you didn't have breakfast." I laughed nervously. Naru sighed.

"Honestly Mai, you'll never change. You're such an airhead". I turned around and saw Ayako sitting next to Monk, smirking at me.

"No need to be rude." I replied to the shrine maiden, pouting. Naru served me a cup of tea and gave me a piece of bagel with it. While eating I explained to them what I saw in my dream. Naru wasn't blinking.

"So far, all your dreams have shown you are the deaths of the people that Yume witnessed."

"It's obvious, is it not?" Said Masako. "Yume was the one I sensed the fox in. And if one person was to be blamed responsible for all the deaths she saw, would it not be Yukio? At both times he failed to be there and protect her. It would be normal for the girl to bear a huge grudge against him."

"How can you say that? She's only twelve! I doubt she would have the ability to curse someone."

"You seem to forget that she is very sharp for her age."

"That's not an excuse! She's his daughter!"

"That is no excuse either, she added in her usual calm tone."

That was it. I got up so fast, that my chair fell on the ground. "Did you see her face when Yukio was attacked? Did you see the tears falling out of her eyes and her cut off breathing? Well I did and I can tell you, it wasn't acting!"

"Please! The girl and her father haven't spoken in years."

"Do you think that's reason enough to think she hates him? How shortsighted are you?"

"That's enough both of you!" Shouted Naru. "Like I said, we're not done investigating. Miss Hara, I'll remind you that despite her weak intellect, Mai has a very sharp intuition. She's never been wrong so far. We'll save the accusations for when we have more pieces of the puzzle."

I sat back down, Masako's glare on me. Naru continued. "Mai, please go get Yume, I want to ask her something."

I got up and went upstairs. As I came closer to her room, I could hear Yume talking to herself again. "I didn't know... why didn't you tell me?" Was she talking about Yukio? I knocked on the door. "Come in." I entered. Yume was sitting on her bed, hugging her legs and resting her head on her knees. She looked at me with her bright blue eyes full of tears. My heart broke when I saw her. I sat next to her and gave her my handkerchief. She took it and thanked me. "Your dad is going to be fine Yume. We'll soon send that spirit away."

"Mai, have you ever met any good spirits?"

"What do you mean?"

"Spirits who don't harm anyone."

"Usually when people call for us, it's because the spirit is a danger to humans. So no, I haven't seen any good spirits. But there are the lost spirits who don't know how to find peace. Those don't do harm on purpose so we just cleanse them."

She looked kind of disappointed at my answer. She stayed quiet for a minute. Lost in her thoughts. Then she looked up to me with a big smile. "Did you want something from me?"

"Shoot, I forgot! Naru wants to ask you something."

We started heading to the staircase. "You like Naru a lot don't you Mai?"

"HUH? Well of course I like him, he is my boss after all. I mean if I didn't like him why in the world would I work for him?" I was trying to hide my blushing face. Yume laughed. "You're in denial Mai. But that's okay." She was so young, yet she talked about grown up stuff so easily. I could see her brilliance shinning in her eyes. She was good at hiding her pain. I teased back: "You like talking to yourself, don't you?" She turned crimson. "You heard me? That's embarrassing!"

"Just payback for making fun of me."

She tried to smack my back but I started running towards the stairs. Yume ran after me, laughing. Then she suddenly stopped. I did too at the top of the stairs. "What's wrong Yume?"I asked leaning against the banister.

"Mai, move the floor is collapsing!"

The moment I rested my wait on it, the banister and a part of the floor detached itself from the staircase and started falling. I screamed but managed to grab on to a part of the banister that wasn't broken...yet. There was about 15 meters between me and the first floor. I could already feel my hand slipping. Yume through herself on the floor and grabbed on to my wrist. I heard footsteps. "Mai!" I heard many voices shout in unison. "Hold on!" Said Monk. He started heading up the stairs. But part of the stairs crumbled right in front of him. And then... it appeared. It was huge. The ghost looked like a giant wolf. His yellow eyes could have been the flames of hell themselves. He was ferociously growling at Monk. He quickly took out his rosary and started chanting : "Na ma bousa na dam bare don kan!" The monster growled louder but didn't back off. John stepped in and threw some holy water at it. This time, the monster roared and disappeared through the wall. I heard Naru shout. "John, Miss Hara, go after it!" I was loosing my grip and didn't think the piece of wood I was holding on to was going to hold much longer. I could hear the wood crack. Tears started coming out of my eyes. Yume was desperately hanging on to my wrist. "Yume stop, you're going to fall too!"

"No way!"

"Don't be stupid!"

"There's no way I'm sitting by again!"

At that moment, the piece of wood broke. My heart skipped a beat. I waited for the impact, but it never came. Instead, I felt a sharp pain in my wrist, was grabbed by the back of my sweatshirt and pulled up on the second floor. I heard Yume grunt as she pulled me up. We both panted for a long time. When I was able to speak again, I slapped Yume as hard as I could. "Are you out of your mind? You could have died!"

"So could you! I'm not letting anyone die because of me anymore!" Tears were flowing out of her eyes again. Her voice lowered considerably and started shaking "Never again... you hear me?"

In that moment, I saw Naru and Monk coming out of one of the rooms. They probably came in by the emergency stairs of the fire exit. Naru ran to us and knelt down. "Mai you're safe! How the hell did you get back up? I'd never had imagined you were that strong."

"I'm not. Yume pulled me up." Naru stared at the girl for a while. "No one will be coming up here for a while." Said Monk. "Let's get you both downstairs." I tried getting up but my legs were still shaking from shock. Naru put one of my arms around his shoulders and grabbed me by the waist with his free hand. I blushed madly. Naru was actually holding me. Monk turned to Yume and held out a friendly hand. "Need help standing Yume?"

At my surprise, the girl slapped his hand away. She glared at him and said with a deep voice "I can walk by myself." She got up and started walking towards the exit. What had just happened?

Naru helped me down the emergency exit. Everyone was waiting. Shion and Mary had Yume in her arms. Yukio was awkwardly standing behind them. I could tell by his face that he wanted to hold his daughter but something kept him. It was kind of sad. Yume looked like she was back to normal. "Mai, can you stand?" Asked Naru. My legs were still shaking but I gave it a try. It worked for a bout ten seconds. My boss sighed. "You're hopeless."

"Hey! I didn't ask to be pushed off a staircase by an angry ghost!"

I was expecting him to crush the argument with one of his oh-so-clever comebacks like he always did, but he just stared at me with an emotionless face. It kind of worried me for a moment. Then he just picked me up again. Masako and John came back at that moment. When she saw me and Naru, she froze. I gave her an 'I'm-not-responsible-for-this' face. She just looked away, giving me a 'you-just-got-lucky' face.

"Where did it go?" Naru asked to Masako.

"The spirit escaped us. But I'm positive that it is still in the house. Probably hiding upstairs. Just like I said, it wants us gone so that he can finish what he has been summoned for. "

"This is getting out of hands. From now on, no one stays alone, got it?"

Everyone agreed.

**5:30pm**

We were back at base. The whole team was here, sitting around a table, except for John who was watching over Yukio with Mary. Lin and Naru were checking something on the monitors, while Monk was sharing some of his thoughts with us. "I'm telling you, that thing has to be a demon. It's too smart. And you saw how it didn't react to my exorcism."

"It has been concealing itself pretty well." Added Masako.

"Maybe Naru was wrong it is actually a Shiki." Said Ayako, sarcastically.

"I found it."

Everyone turned to Naru with eyes wide open. He turned his computer around and showed us a footage. It was taken from the camera that was placed in the second floor hallway. The footage was the one taken this mourning. It was paused at the moment where Yume was holding my arm. "I want you all to pay close attention to this." He played the video once. It was four seconds long. It was the moment when Yume pulled me up. "I didn't see anything, did you?" I asked the others. They all shook their heads. "Now, I'm going to show it to you frame by frame." We all looked. In the first few frames nothing, then we got to the part where she actually started pulling on my arm. The one frame where she was facing the camera : her eyes were bright yellow. Like the eyes of a wolf. And I could have sworn I could see a fang on the side of her mouth. "No...It can't be... Yume... is really possessed?"

"I knew I sensed the fox inside her." Said Masako.

"We know for sure Yume is involved in all of this. The spirit gave her this strength. It's not possible for a twelve year old as small and skinny as her to carry a 50Kg teen with such ease."

"46Kg! I still don't believe it!"

"The proof is right under your eyes, Mai. Accept it. How do you explain the claw mark on your wrist?" Said Masako facing the ground. She was sad I could tell. Deep inside, she'd probably hoped that I'd been right about Yume.

"No, I mean I still don't believe Yume is the one that put the curse on Yukio! What if the curser only used Yume to hide the spirit? What if the spirit is hopping from host to host to conceal itself better? You said it was smart didn't you?"

Naru stayed quiet a moment. He was about to speak again when someone knocked on the door. Ruka came in. From the looks of it, he was just out of a long day of work. He also had the same embarrassed look on his face. "May I disturb you a minute?"

"Has it something to do with our investigation?"

"Yes...well, maybe." His hands started shaking. Lin pulled out a chair for him. He sat down and stayed quiet for a minute. " I was worried that I'd be in trouble if I told anyone, but things have gone too far... I may be the cause of the paranormal activity in the house."

Everyone froze and starred with wide eyes. Only Naru and Lin stayed emotionless. Ruka went on. "It started about three weeks ago. I went to Yume's room to ask her for a pen. I knocked but she wasn't there. So I thought it wouldn't bother her if I just took one from her desk. But I tripped over a pile of books. I tried holding on to a frame but it broke from the wall. I was about to put it back when I saw that there was a hole in the wall behind it. And in the wall I found those."

He pulled out a bunch of sheets of paper, a couple of used candles and a necklace. On the sheets, there were circles and different symbols, and writings. Those could only be Ouijaboards. I didn't know what to think. What was going on? Ruka continued. "I've always had interest in these kinds of things so I tried them out. I didn't know it would have such an effect."

"Who does the necklace belong to?" Asked Ayako.

"It was Sakura's, Yume's mother. I know because there's a name on it. Yume lived in this house with her grandmother a couple years ago."

"You are not the one who summoned the spirit Ruka." Said Naru. "You're no spiritualist and have no formation to put a curse on someone specific. I don't suppose you used anyone's name when you played."

"No, not even my own."

"Then you're in the clear. However, you shouldn't do ouijaboarding anymore. Even an amateur can summon a dangerous spirit."

Ruka wiped the sweat off his forehead and sighed loudly. He left the room thanking us. We could eliminate one person for our suspect ring. But things were looking bad for Yume.

Naru was lost in thought. I decided to break the silence. "Naru, what are you thinking?"

He didn't answer. I warned him. "Don't you dare just walk away without telling us!"

"I'm thinking of interrogating Yume."

"What do you mean interrogating?"

"Calm down. I need to think more about this. Mai, with the exception of Yukio, I want you to interrogate the members of the family, alone, one by one. Ask them if they've had any memory blanks. Miss Hara, Monk, please be here for all the interrogations just in case."

**6:20pm**

I sighed as I walked to my room. None of the family members other than Yume had felt these blanks. I still couldn't bring myself to see her as the culprit. "Why the long face Mai?"

I looked up and saw Daniel leaning against the wall, smiling."What's up Daniel?"

"I was just wondering if you could give me some idea of where you're at in the case. Can you fill me in?"

"Well, I can't tell you everything, but we're certain someone cursed Yukio."

"Cursed him? As in with straw effigy dolls and needles?"

"Not that kind of cursing, but it's the general idea."

"Who could've cursed him? Yukio is a pretty decent person. Nice, hardworking, funny. He's never done any harm to anyone."

"Do you think Yume could actually blame him for not protecting her mom?"

Daniel stayed quiet and stared into space. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snoop. You don't have to answer."

"No, you have a right to know. About a week before she was killed, Sakura constantly received threats by phone or letter saying that she was going to be attacked if she didn't leave the house. She told Yukio about it but he thought it was just a prank. I don't know if Yume knows about this. When he told me, the only one present was Mom."

And yet another odd that was against Yume. "Naru, I thought, whatever you're planning, I hope it works."

**Tuesday, October 26****th****, 10:30am**

That mourning while Daniel, the twins and Yume were in school, we asked Shion to help us prepare a room for a séance. The only one who knew exactly what was going on was Naru. He just gave us instructions while John and Masako were still searching for the spirit. Monk and Ayako were asked to set up a barrier to keep the spirit from leaving the house.

"Why is it that all I seem to ever do in cases is making charms and putting up barriers? Naru should really rely on my exorcisms more." Complained the Shrine maiden.

"Maybe if you'd actually done something productive since we started working together, you'd get a higher rating from Mr Narcissist."

Instead of a reply, Monk got his head smashed by dictionary.

"Careful Ayako. We still need him in one piece. At least until the end of the investigation." I laughed.

"Geez. Thanks for your consideration for my health Mai. I appreciate the thought." replied the pouting monk.

"Everyone stop messing around."Naru snapped. "Everything needs to be ready for when they come back."

"So this séance is for Yume, right Naru?" My boss looked at me carefully. "Yes."

"Is it really necessary? Will it harm her?"

"Physically, absolutely not. Mentaly, it's going to trigger a reaction according to her feelings towards my questioning." I lowered my head in sadness. " That almost sounds like mental torture. Naru, there has to be another way..."

"Mai, look at me." He grabbed my chin and lifted my head. "This test will decide once and for all if Yume is the culprit or not. I'm asking you to trust me."

**2:30pm**

"All right, Mr Shibuya. You have my permission. Get this thing out of my daughter." Said Yukio.

"Are you insane, Yukio? What if they harm her? Don't you think your daughter has suffered enough? She is fragile, we have no idea how much this thing will affect her!" Yelled Shion, jumping out of her seat.

"These people are professionals. They know what they are doing. You want your niece to keep a monster inside her for the rest of her life?"

Shion shook with anger and slammed the door when she left. Naru thanked Mr Kimura.


	5. Chapter 5

**6:30pm**

Yume was now sitting in a wooden chair in the middle of the basement. The windows were covered and the room was lighted by only a bunch of candles disposed in a huge circle round the chair. Everyone insisted to be here even though Naru would have preferred not to have anyone but the team. The condition was that everyone had to carry a protective charm. I could see Yume shaking in her chair. It made me shake as well. Naru stepped in the candle circle. And stopped two feet away from the trembling girl. "What are the candles for?" I asked Monk.

"There special candles. When lighted, they make a special scent that is suppose to make you relax. But if you are in a nervous state then the candles will bother you."

Naru begun. "Yume I want you to answer my questions."

"..."

"Why were there ouijaboards in your room?"

"I haven't used them in years. After mom died, I tried to talk with her through spiritualism. I tried for a whole year. It never worked."

"I talked to your school principal. He told me that the people who bullied you had been hospitalized for an entire month after a severe beating. You don't have the strength or the will to do it. Yet they all said the same thing, and said you were the assaulter."

"I don't know what you're talking about..."

"Was it your protector who gave you the strength?"

"What protector?" Yume's voice was shaking and she started rubbing her hands together. It was obvious she was hiding something.

"The one you called to curse your father."

"NO YOU'RE WRONG!" This time she lifted her head and starred at Naru straight in the eyes. "I'd never harm my dad! It's my fault he lost everything! I have no right to hurt him! You can't say that!"

"Then why do you protect the thing that's harming him?"

"It's not..."

"You really think you can make us believe that you mean no harm by hiding what you know?"

"You don't understand..."

"In the end, the result is the same..."

"No..."

"You're nothing more than a girl eaten away by revenge and grief, that gave in to her killer impulses and can't even see that she is trying to kill her own father."

"Stop it..." She had her head in between her hands and her eyes wide open with fear. A mixture of sweat and tears was falling from her face. I wanted to tell Naru to stop. Could he not see he was hurting her?

"Face reality Yume, you've become a murderer."

"STOP IT!" She screamed from the bottom of her lungs.

In the same moment, all the mirrors of the studio and the windows exploded and sent pieces of glass everywhere. "Mai look out!" Monk grabbed me in his arms and protected me from the flying shards. We all looked up and heard a loud roar. "It's here." Said a trembling Masako. A white form appeared through the ceiling and started flying really fast around the room, making the fallen shards fly once more. Then it went straight for Yume and right through her chest. She gasped loudly and fell to her knee. She stayed immobile for a couple seconds, head down and eyes closed. It didn't even look like she was breathing. I ran to her. "Yume?"

"Mai!" Naru grabbed my arms from behind and pulled me against him, away from Yume.

She raised her head and opened her eyes. They were bright yellow. "Wrong." Answered a masculine voice from the girl's throat. She...no, it stood up with her body. And stared at each one of us before glaring at Naru. The room was silent for a moment and we could feel the temperature dropping. "Who are you asked Naru?"

"That's doesn't matter!" It snapped. Naru let go off me and got closer to Yume. "You're protecting her. Why is that?"

"None of your business, ghost hunter! But I have a warning for you. If you even think about harming Yume again or exorcising me..." Its eyes turned to look at me. One second later I was smashed against the wall. Yume was holding me by the throat with one hand and strangling me with insane strength. "I will kill her!"

I wanted to speak but couldn't. Everyone froze and stared in panic. Even Naru was visibly on edge. That was not good. I needed air and quickly. Suddenly, it grunted and placed its other hand on its forehead as if it had a strong headache. "What are you doing?" It muttered. It closed its eyes really tight for a couple seconds while grunting. Had someone cast an exorcism? Then she opened her blue eyes. And when she spoke it was her voice that came out. "Shiro, get the hell out!" Yume screamed. A second after she'd screamed, the white form came out of her body and took the shape of a wolf. It was beautiful, like he was made of white flames. It just stood there staring at her. John opened his bottle of holy water and threw it at the spirit. He took a few steps back and growled. Yume placed herself between them. "Please stop!" John froze and lowered his bottle. Everyone was confused. Yume turned to the spirit. "Shiro you're scaring them. Change your form." The ghost growled. "They are not going to harm me. Do what I say." Without replying, the spirit shrunk and took the form of a young boy in a school uniform. I'd seen this boy before. He was the one that was crushed by the car in my dream. Miki was the first one who reacted. "Are you... Shirogane?"

The ghost looked at her and smiled. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Monk finally spoke. "I get it now. It's a hollow spirit."

"A what now?" I said.

"It's a spirit that cannot find peace because he didn't complete what he had to do in this life time. It doesn't need a summoner." Explained Naru.

"I still don't get it."

Naru gave me the usual 'you're hopeless' sigh and continued. "The hollow spirit stays in the world of the living to complete his purpose. It will not leave until he's completed the task."

"So you mean Shiro stayed because before he died, he failed to protect Yume." So that what she had meant by 'good spirit'. I didn't know what to think. I thought it was great that Yume had a protector. But Shiro was dangerous. He'd caused so much trouble in the house that we would have no other choice but to exorcise him.

"You know, if you were actually material, I would slap the hell out of you, stupid fox!"We all looked at Yume scolding her ghost friend. "I thought we had an agreement! I let you stay with me on the condition that you don't harm anyone! What was all that threatening Mai thing about? I didn't think death could whack your brain!"

I stared in amazement. Shiro looked at the ground, like a grounded dog. He turned to me and bowed. I don't know if you've ever had a ghost apologize to you but I could tell you it feels a little strange.

"There is still some explanation needed." Said Masako. "How did you hide him from me?"

"That was easy. Mai told me you could sense spirits, so I put him in a sugar cup that I buried in the garden. You were only searching the house so..."

"Wait." I said. "It doesn't make sense! Naru, are you a hundred percent sure Shiro is a hollow spirit?"

"Well, more like 99%."

"Why would he attack Yukio if his purpose is to protect Yume? Besides, he can't materialize like the other one."

"Maybe he saw him as a danger to her..." Suggested Ayako.

"No, Mai is right. Our case is not finished yet." Everyone stared at Naru. "We have solved nothing."

"What do you mean nothing? Exclaimed monk. "We have the spirit don't we?"

"No we don't. He's not the right one. There are two ghosts in this house."

Everyone fell silent. "You already knew it, didn't you Yume?"

"I guessed after the ghost attacked Mai in the staircase. Shiro can't speak if he is not possessing someone. I have to guess."

"Rina are you okay? Asked Miki to her twin.

Everyone turned around. Rina was smiling. A creepy smirk that sent shivers down my spine. "Get away from her, shouted Masako. She is possessed!"

Rina laughed hysterically. "Now then, I was promised blood right? Where is my prey?" She took a kitchen knife out of her pocket. Pushing Miki away, she ran to Yukio holding the handle with both hands. Lucky for him, Lin was faster. He grabbed her hand and twisted it so that she'd let go off the knife. Then twisted both her arms in her back. She just laughed and swinged her head against his face. Blood spurted out of his nose. He grunted but didn't let go. Ayako moved in front of him and shouted the nine cuts with the star shaped signs that went with it : "Rin, Pyo, To, Sha, Kai, Gin, Ren, Zai, Zen!" This time, a mixture between a scream and a roar came out of Rina's mouth and she fell to the ground. "RINA!" Yelled everyone. The twin just got up and rubbed her head with her usual bored expression. "What happened?" Miki helped her to get up. Masako told us that the ghost was gone. We all went upstairs.

"Are you all right Lin?" I asked while washing the blood off his face.

"I'm fine Mai, don't worry. It didn't even brake my nose."

Rina's wounds were more severe. The nine cuts left visible scars on her belly. She was still confused about what happened but she only said that it'll make her look cooler.

"Yume, where's Shiro?"

"He's around. There's no way he'll leave my side with that monster around."

"Yume." The girl faced her father. "Did you mean what you said downstairs? Do you really think you're responsible for Sakura's death?" Yume stayed quiet and looked at the ground. Yukio wrapped his arms around her. She looked confused."I'm sorry. I thought you blamed me for not being here to protect you both. And I shunned you so you wouldn't have to see my face. I'm so sorry sweetheart. I'm so so sorry." Tears fell from Yukio's eyes. Yume held him and said. "It's okay dad, please don't cry." The man let her go and wiped the tears off his face. "I guess we can start again right?" "Yep!"

Naru was sitting alone at the corner of the room looking outside the window, obviously lost in thought. I went over to him. "Naru, what are you thinking about? Can't you at least pretend to be happy? We reunited a family for chocolate's sake!"

"It's still too early to celebrate. We still have a dangerous ghost to catch and a curser to unmask."

"Of course. What's your plan?"

"What makes you think I have one?"

"Easy! When you have an idea your eyebrows are just flat. You'll never be able to crush your massive ego will you?"

"Don't count on it."

**Wednesday, October 27****th**** 6:30am**

It was still dark outside. I hadn't slept a wink. Even though all the girls were sleeping in the same room. I was still expecting that monster to show up any second. I got dressed and went to the kitchen to get some water.I glanced at the girls : the twins were sleeping on each side of Mary and Yume was buried in Shion's arms. I sighed. This family looked so well, how could someone put a death curse on Yukio. Ayako had taught me the nine cuts so I trusted myself. "Can't sleep?" I jumped. Daniel was sitting near the window.

"Don't do that! You scared the hell out of me!"

"Sorry. Are you scared of that ghost?"

"Of... course not! It's not the first violent ghost I meet."

"Yet your not 're a bad liar Mai." I pouted. "You know, you always act like a kid and get angry when you're trying to be brave. That's what I like about you. It makes you cute."

I blushed. Daniel walked up to me and grabbed my chin with his hand just like Naru did. He now looked sad. "But you don't see me, do you Mai? In your eyes, the only one is Naru."

What was he trying to say? He couldn't like me that way, could he? "It hurts you know. Seeing you looking at another one."

"Daniel...I..."

"But aren't you suffering too? Naru doesn't look a you either." Where was he getting at? "If I had you, I'd promise to look at you and only you all the time."

I smiled. "Naru's way too much into himself and his job to look at me. But, even so, I like my place. Just supporting him is enough for me. There's still a side of him that's a complete mystery but that's who he is."

Daniel let go me and gave me a sad smile. "You're cruel Mai. Come with me, I think I found something interesting that could help you."

He turned around and started walking. Could he give me a hint about the investigation? I followed him outside and he took me behind the house. He stopped without turning around. "So, what did you want to show me?"

He chuckled. "You know Mai, I had fun messing with you, but right now you're a nuisance."

"Huh?" Before I could do anything, he turned around and grabbed my wounded wrist and pulled my arm up so high that I had to stand on my tiptoe to keep myself in contact with the ground. I felt my scars opening again. Daniel just smirked and laughed at my pain, his face two centimeters away from mine.

"You know, I like your confused expression but I think I prefer this face much better."

He squeezed my wrist. My bones cracked. The pain was so sharp, that I let out a small scream. He grabbed my hair and pulled it backwards so that my throat was exposed to him. I tried to push him away, grabbing his sweatshirt with my free hand but it didn't do anything. "What are you doing Daniel?"

"You still don't get it, do you? I'm going to take your life, little Mai. You and your crew are starting to annoy me. I can't work properly with all these charms and exorcisms. If they don't give up after your death, then I'll just have to end them as well. What do you say?"

"No! Don't you dare hurt my friends, you jerk!"

"Your fiesty. Good. It'll make your death more painful for you and more enjoyable for me. Tell me, how should I proceed? Would you like me to break all your bones one by one and then eat your heart or would you rather I drain every drop of blood from your body?"

This guy was a sadist! I screamed in fear. "Naru! Lin! Anyone!"

"Scream all you want, little Mai! He got closer to my throat and opened his mouth. All his teeth had grown into fangs. This guy, wasn't Daniel. "No one can save you now."

"You sure about that, demon?" I opened my eyes. Naru was there. Monk, Lin, Masako and John were here also. The demon chuckled. "Looks like you found me, but not for long."

"Shiro, do it now!" Ordered Naru. Out of nowhere, Yume appeared, bearing claws and fangs behind Daniel and jumped on him. She smacked her hand on his back just before receiving an elbow in the ribs. She flew thirty meters back, rolling on the ground. Monk ran towards her. Naru looked at the possessed Daniel. "Now you can't escape! This talisman keeps you from escaping this body."

He growled. "Maybe so, but I still have her." He pulled my hair again, and placed a clawed hand on my throat. "I'll let her go if you give me Yukio Kimura. Decide quickly. I'm rather impatient."

"That won't be necessary." Replied Naru. "Because I'm going to end you here and now, monster." I saw some sort of white energy gathering around him. He was about to use his Shigon! If he did his body wouldn't keep up and he might die. "Naru don't!" I screamed. "You'll die!"

John put a friendly hand on Naru's shoulder. "No need for that, Kazuya." How was he able to touch him with all this electrifying energy? Lin stepped up, put two fingers in his mouth and whistled. His Shiki appeared and the first one hit Daniel straight in the face. He dropped me and I got away as soon as possible. The second one hit him in the stomach and the third one behind the neck. He fell unconscious. My heart wouldn't stop beating. This was the first time in my life I'd been so close to death. While I was catching my breath, Naru kept giving orders. "Lin, Monk take Daniel inside the house. Tie him up so the beast can't make a run for it when he wakes up. John, call an ambulance for Yume."

My head was spinning and I couldn't focus on anything. I couldn't even be happy that I'd escaped death. My heart wouldn't slow down and my breathing was heavier than ever. I didn't notice Naru approaching. I was then thrown back a little and felt my cheek heating up and get stingy. I looked up to Naru who still had his hand up from slapping me. "Naru...why did you..."

"What in the world were you thinking Mai? Did you even think for one second that it was suspicious of him to lead you outside the house all alone?"

I had nothing to reply. Of course he was right. I felt tears forming in my eyes. "I'm sorry." I started sobbing despite my efforts to hold the tears back. I felt arms wrapping around me. "You're safe now, you idiot. Stop crying."

Coming from him, it was probably the nicest things he'll ever do and say to me. "Yeah. Thank you Naru."

"I'm not ready to loose my air-headed, idiotic, assistant just yet. Do me a favor and use your brain a little more often."

"I'll try my oh-so-full-of-himself boss."

**5:00pm**

We soon got a call from the hospital that told us Yume was alright. She just had a cracked rib and could return home in a couple hours. Naru told me to come to the cellar were they had attached Daniel. Mary wanted to see him but Naru refused. This time only the team was allowed in the room. Daniel was attached hands in his back and was on his knees in the middle of the room. When I came in he starred and smirked at me. I hid behind Monk. John stepped forward and spoke. "You have to get Yukio's life. Why?"

"I take his life and then I get his blood. The usual contract. Although there some much more appealing blood here. Right, little Mai?"

I looked away and John turned to Naru. "Looks like you were right. This is indeed a blood contract."

"What is it?" I asked.

"In the world, the places where you find the most common forms of cursing are Asia and Africa. But there is one form of cursing from the Mideast that's called a Blood contract. You call upon a specific dead spirit and give him the task of killing someone. Once it's task is accomplished, he can make a new contract. But he can't move on until it's done or until he has a mutual agreement with the contractor to break it. However the spirits called are usually the ones of vicious known killers and breaking the contract is almost never an option."

"So that's why you couldn't find it. The contractor has no control over the spirit's actions right?"

"That's correct. See the difference when you use your brain?" I grunted. Why did he have to rub it in? I didn't even bother looking at Masako. John spoke again. "Exorcising him is going to take all I've got. Take a step back everyone."

John took a step closer to Daniel. He opened his bible and started reciting the bible. Daniel started to move around quite a bit and growling. He roared when John splashed him, but didnt give up. "I know forbid you in the name of our father, to ever enter this body again and to leave this world were you do not belong. In the name of the father, the son and the holy spirit. Amen."

Daniel screamed and from his mouth, escaped a black shape that scattered everywhere. Masako looked up for a minute and then her face lit up. "He's gone. I cannot sense him anywhere, nor can I feel his disturbing aura."

"Can someone please explain to me why I'm tied up?"

We all looked at Daniel and smiled. The nightmare was over, but now we had to expose the real culprit.


	6. Chapter 6

**6:00pm**

Once more, we were all gathered in the living room. Daniel, Yume, Yukio and Rina were all covered in bandages. This case had cost us a lot. But at least they were all here and safe now. It was time to expose the culprit. Naru explained to everyone that the curse was actually a Blood Contract. "I'd guess it when the monster took control of Rina's body and asked for blood. He also talked too much for a simple tormentor. He had to be the spirit of a deceased human."

It was obvious he already knew who the culprit was. "The Blood Contract is a form of cursing that was created in -300 B.C. in Ancient Egypt. It was used to curse entire generations of family."

From Ancient Egypt? I knew who that was. Shion remained silent in her seat, holding her hands together and facing the ground. "You gave us one information too many. If you had kept to yourself that you came back from a search in Egypt, it would've been much harder to expose you. Yet another thing betrayed you. First you're the little sister of the late Sakura Kimura, Yume's mother. Second, you are very protective of Yume.

Everyone froze and looked at Shion. She got up and started laughing. A hysterical laughter that sort of scared me. When she stopped laughing and caught her breath. She lifted her head. She looked angry. Her eyes had daggers in them, but she spoke very calmly. "Yes it was me. In five month of expedition I had time to learn a few things. You thought I had forgotten didn't you Yukio? Forgot that you killed my sister? "

Everyone turned to Yukio. Shion didn't stop there. "After Sakura's funerals, I met Yume for the first time. She was leaning on my sisters piano, begging her absent mother to play for her. I sat there and played for her, all night long. She never stopped crying. And then she told me, it was her fault and that's why you were sending her away. How could you abandon your own daughter and make her suffer when you were the one responsible for her mother's death? You knew about the threats she received but you decided to ignore it because of your stupid job?\. What did you think when you found her dead in your house?"

A river of tears came out of her eyes. "I hope you suffered Yukio! You hear me? I hope you suffered. But suffering wasn't enough. Your existence itself was enough to make Yume suffer even more than you. I wanted you to feel fear like my sister did before you died as well and leave Yume in peace! I wasn't going to let you destroy the most precious thing my sister left behind! For her to be free,YOU HAD TO DISAPPEAR!"

SMACK! The sound of Yume's palm on her aunt's cheek echoed in the room. "You're an idiot, aunt Shion! Stupid, stupid, stupid aunt! Why are you trying to destroy the only thing that I truly want? Why are you trying to break apart my family!?" She calmed down and put her arms around Shion's waist. "Look at us aunt Shion, were all here. I just got my dad back. Don't take him away from me again."

Shion hugged her niece back. After a moment of silence, Naru spoke again. "Your aunt had already gave up on killing your father. She was just letting off some steam, right now." Naru took a strange golden necklace with a huge broken ruby. "She tried to nullify the contract but the demon didn't agree. This is the talisman used for the summoning ritual. I found it yesterday."

I don't think I've ever seen a brighter, honest smile on Yume's face, than in that moment.

**Thursday, October 28****th**** 10:23am**

We were finishing getting all the gear back in Lin's van. "Are you sure you're well enough to drive Lin? If your head is still hurting, then..."

"Don't worry Mai. Besides, I can't let you or Naru drive."

"Guess you're right."

Ayako, Masako and John were already gone because of work. Monk stayed to help us pack everything. Everyone was to meet at SPR office to get there fees. The whole family was gathered in front of the porch to say goodbye. Yume was happier than ever. Naru said that there was no inconvenient for Shiro to stay but that Yume should still get a special formation for taming him. Shion and her were to leave for China next vacation to consult an old friend of Lin that could teach it to her. Shion hadn't completely forgiven Yukio, but I was certain everything will be fine. "I can't thank you enough for your help, all of you."

"We only did our job Mr Kimura" replied my boss.

"You did a lot more than that."Added Mary.

"Well, we should be on our way. Take care. Let's go Mai."

"Right." Before I could follow him, Yume wrapped her arms around me. "Thank you Mai. Can we see each other again?"

I gave her my email. "Make sure to tell me about China, okay?"

"Pinkie swear." Daniel came near us and planted a kiss on my cheek. I blushed. He smiled and said. "Naru's a very lucky bastard. I'll be sure to find myself a girl like you someday."

I didn't know what to say. "Mai. We're leaving!" Saved by the bell. I waved goodbye and joined my boss.

**3:20pm - Shibuya Psychic Research office. **

"Well, I look forward to our next case together. Thank you everyone."

After we all received our fees, everyone started leaving. Ayako had to go to work at the hospital, Masako had an interview, Monk had a meeting with his band and John had a mass to celebrate. I had to meet my friends at the mall. "Mai, do you need me to drop you?" Proposed Monk.

"Yes, plea... Wait never mind to speak with Naru. Don't worry I'll take the bus."

"Okay. See ya later!" He left. I turned around and to my surprise Naru was sitting in his couch, looking at me. I took a deep breath. "Naru, why were you going to use Shigon when the demon caught me? You know it can kill you. You told me yourself you would never use it unless you had no other choice."

"Maybe it was because in my eyes the situation was desperate. You better not tell anyone. I am a self-centered bastard with a big deal of pride, after all."

I couldn't believe this guy! That was his way to tell me he was worried about me? What a jerk!

"Well, thank you very much for all your concern. I'll be sure not to worry next time you put your life on the line! It might hurt your beloved pride!"

I started walking away, but then... "Mai." Before I could turn, Naru grabbed my arm and pulled me against him. With his other hand he grabbed the back of my head and closed the gap between our lips. "No way!" I thought. "Naru was kissing me? It couldn't be! Yet I wish this moment could last forever."

He released me and stared at my confused expression. He smirked at me. "So I'm that much of a good kisser, huh?"

"What? No...No way!"

"Then why are you blushing so much?"

"YOU'RE SO FULL OF IT!"

"You better hurry or you're going to be late."

"What are you talking... Oh shoot. I forgot." I ran out the door so fast that I didn't hear his last comment."You better not be late for our first date, Mai."


End file.
